The Age of the Medici 

This is a lengthy exposition of the social and political history of renaissance Florentine history, told through dramatised conversations between the main participants, particularly Cosimo ... See full synopsis »

Stars:

Marcello Di Falco, Virgilio Gazzolo, Adriano Amidei Migliano

Cast

Series cast summary:
Marcello Di Falco	...	Cosimo de' Medici 3 episodes, 1972-1973
Virgilio Gazzolo	...	Leon Battista Alberti 2 episodes, 1973
Adriano Amidei Migliano	...	Carlo degli Alberti 2 episodes, 1973
Michel Bardinet	...	Ciriaco d'Arpaso 2 episodes, 1973
Roberto Bisacco	...	Niccolò Di Cocco Donati 2 episodes, 1973
Roberto Bruni		2 episodes, 1973
Tom Felleghy	...	Rinaldo degli Albizzi 2 episodes, 1972-1973
Ugo Cardea	...	Niccolò Cusano 2 episodes, 1973
Bruno Cattaneo	...	Toscanelli 2 episodes, 1973
Valentino Macchi	...	Ubertino de' Bardi 2 episodes, 1972-1973
Maurizio Manetti		2 episodes, 1972-1973
Giuliano Esperati	...	Nuovo gonfaloniere 2 episodes, 1973
Goffredo Matassi	...	Bernardo Guadagni, gonfaloniere di Firenze 2 episodes, 1972-1973
Giacinto Ferro		2 episodes, 1973
Sergio Nicolai	...	Francesco Sederini 2 episodes, 1972-1973
Piero Gerlini	...	Poggio Bracciolini 2 episodes, 1973
Sergio Serafini	...	Lorenzo 2 episodes, 1972-1973
John Stacy	...	Ilarione de' Bardi 2 episodes, 1972-1973
Francesco Vairano		2 episodes, 1973
Yanti Somer	...	Contessina de' Bardi, moglie di Cosimo 2 episodes, 1972-1973

Storyline

This is a lengthy exposition of the social and political history of renaissance Florentine history, told through dramatised conversations between the main participants, particularly Cosimo de Medici and Brunelleschi. Among its themes are commerce and banking, artistic and scientific advances such as perspective and early automation of manufacturing processes, political processes such as taxation and voting and conflict.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | florentine | tv mini series | 

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Genres:

Biography | History

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Age of the Medici

Company Credits

Production Co:

RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

255 min 85 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut of Fred Ward.

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Connections

Referenced in Rossellini visto da Rossellini (1993)

User Reviews

A History Text, Indeed

An earlier (the sole, in fact) reviewer of this series suggested that one should approach this 3-part series as an illustrated text rather than a film. S/He was so right! I would speculate that most people should pass on buying this set. Yes, Rosellini's costumes and sets are wonderful. Nearly every frame would make a frame-able painting. And the the daily life details -- the wet horse-dung in the streets, the general filthy conditions of the period, the exquisite artisan-ship of garments for the wealthy -- are sublime.

But this series is filled wall-to-wall with dense, rapid dialog in Italian. It's nearly impossible to follow with English subtitles. And the characters just start to blend into a smear by the end of the first episode. There is virtually nothing to break the series out of its yak-yak-yak drone, historically significant though it may be.

I think even Italians will have a great challenge to remain conscious for this series.